STAR Centre

William Ruthven Primary School became a specialist science school in 2015 as part of the Department's Science in Schools program. In 2020, robotics was sucessfully added to the school's science program.

In 2020, William Ruthven Primary School established its STAR (Science, Technology, Arts and Robotics) Centre to house its science and robotics program - as well as providing a permanent home to our arts program. As part of the STAR Centre's launch, we registered a star in the school's name within the Telescopium Constellation.

Science

William Ruthven Primary School uses Primary Connections as the basis for its science program. Primary Connections is an innovative program developed by the Australian Academy of Science linking the teaching of science with the teaching of literacy in primary schools.

The program has a suite of units across Prep to Year 6 that fully align to all strands of the Victorian Curriculum.  Each curriculum unit provides practical advice on implementing our inquiry-based teaching and learning approach to develop science understanding. The units combine hands-on investigations, evidence-based reasoning and collaborative group work to build skills necessary to thrive in the 21st century.

Robotics

Robotics and coding have become part of modern education. William Ruthven Primary School takes great pride in the range of programs that begin in Prep. The skills that students utilise and develop during these lessons prepare them for opportunities that may look to seize in their futures.

Prep - Year 2 students begin their coding journey with Bee-Bots robots. These robots allow our youngest learners to develop their understanding of directions, turns, distance and problem solving in a hands-on and engaging way.

Year 3 and 4 students use Sphero robots. These robots allow students to manipulate movements, shapes and angles in new and precise ways. Spheros allow for high-level group collaboration and program design while building upon skills from previous programs.

Year 5 and 6 students put together all their robotics and coding skillswhen using the Jimu robots. Students collaborate to build their impressive robots to solve challenges when engaged in basic visual programming.